Find Your Pint and Raise a Toast to the Blue Ridge Parkway By Rita Larkin
The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation’s beer series, Find Your Pint, is back with even more breweries teaming up to raise funds for the scenic route with special beer releases and events. In its second year, the series is sweeping up the Parkway from Asheville to breweries in the High Country and Virginia. “We’re honored that the brewing community has rallied around the Blue Ridge Parkway for the second year of the Find Your Pint series,” said Jason Urroz with the Foundation. “It’s representative of how meaningful the Parkway is to the communities it reaches, and demonstrates that great things can happen when partners come together to help raise awareness, money, and a pint or two to support one of the most-visited units of the National Park Service.” Each brewery is celebrating the connection between beer and the outdoors. Some are creating special beers in honor of the 469-mile ribbon of road, while others are highlighting flagship brews in their lineup. Every participating brewery is generously donating a portion of sales to support the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation as the nonprofit celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. For instance, Lost Province Brewing in Boone is donating $1 for every pint of its Lost Trail Pale Ale sold
during September. Booneshine Brewing will do the same for every Booneshine IPA. In 2016, more than 15 million people traveled the Parkway, surpassing the visitation at Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Grand Canyon national parks combined. Unlike many large parks, the Parkway does not charge an admission fee, and with stagnant government funding, the Parkway requires extra support to keep it an amazing place. The Foundation’s current projects include construction of showers at Price Park Campground, restoring Moses H. Cone Memorial Park, and rehabbing Sharp Top Shelter. The series includes a passport program encouraging beer fans to visit each brewery to collect Parkway Beer Passport stickers. The passport booklets will be available at participating breweries and can be downloaded online at brpfoundation.com/findyourpint. Beer fans are encouraged to use #FindYourPint and #brpfoundation and tag the breweries in social media posts to spread the word. The September participants are Asheville Brewing Company, Asheville, from September 15 until the batch is gone; BearWaters Brewing Company, Canton, September 18-24; Blue Ghost Brewing Company, Fletcher, from September 2 until the batch is gone; Booneshine Brewing Company, Boone, all month; Ecusta Brewing Company, Pisgah Forest, Fridays in September; Ginger’s Revenge Craft Brewery and Tasting Room, Asheville, all month; Highland Brewing Company, Asheville, September 8 until the batch is gone; Loose Shoe Brewing Company, Amherst, Virginia, September 29; Lost Province Brewing Company, Boone, all month; New Belgium Brewing, Asheville, September 24-30; Noble Cider, Asheville, September 8 until the batch is gone; One World Brewing, Asheville, all month; Oyster House Brewing Company, Asheville, all month; Pisgah Brewing Company, Black Mountain, September 14-October 13; Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Fletcher, September 4-10; Thirsty Monk Brewery and Pub, Asheville, September 7-10; Twin Creeks Brewing Company, Vinton, Virginia, all month; and Twin Leaf Brewery, Asheville, September 23. For more information, visit brpfoundation.org/findyourpint. CAROLINA MOUNTAIN LIFE Autumn 2017 —
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